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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27226255">If today was your last day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperEllen/pseuds/SuperEllen'>SuperEllen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(nothing major though), (sort of), 5+1 Things, Attempt at Humor, Bokuto sucks at declaring his love, Grand gestures gone wrong, Humor, Love Confessions, M/M, Mild Heartbreak, Shenanigans, Training Camp, to the point that Kuroo keeps getting hurt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:48:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,405</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27226255</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperEllen/pseuds/SuperEllen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Before the beginning of their last training camp, Fukurodani's third-years made a promise: to make the best out of that training camp, to live those days as if they were their last. Some of them, however, took it more literally than others. There was who only concentrated on volleyball and who also tried to accomplish something else.<br/>And then there was Bokuto, who enlisted a group of first-years to help him declare his love to Kuroo in a very Bokuto way. Shenanigans ensued, and Kuroo was pretty sure that somebody was trying to kill him.</p>
<p>Or: five times Bokuto fails <span class="u">spectacularly</span> at doing grand gestures, and one time Kuroo succeeds.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>91</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello everyone, I'm back with a new chaptered fic. This one is the shortest I've written so far, as it will only have 7 short chapters.</p>
<p>I started writing it with a specific idea in mind, but after writing 12k of complete garbage I tossed it away and started again from scratch. This second attempt is way better than the first one, but I'm still not satisfied with the outcome. It's not exactly what I was expecting to write, after all. I wanted to keep the tone of the story more along the lines of the Haikyuu-bu manga, but since I'm terrible at writing humor I had to put hurt feelings in there as well.<br/>I'm absolutely not satisfied with the result of what I've written, but I hope it will still be good enough to come out as a decent read.</p>
<p>The story is titled after the song "<i>If Today Was Your Last Day</i>" by Nickelback that inspired me in writing this fic.<br/>The titles of the single chapters are elements taken from different cultures, and each of them represents the atmosphere of the chapter itself. The only exception is the last chapter, because that one of course is not one of the main elements in any culture, but I found it to be fitting.</p>
<p>As always, I remind you that English is not my first language, so if you find any horrible mistakes please let me know and I'll amend them immediately.</p>
<p>I have already finished writing and revising this story, so I should be able to post chapters regularly. A new chapter will be out <span class="u">each Tuesday</span>, as I will be updating once a week.</p>
<p>I'd love to receive your feedback, therefore kudos and comments are always much appreciated.</p>
<p>And now, without any further ado, I leave you to the story.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Shinzen Academy, summer break training camp</b>
</p>
<p>Bokuto and Kuroo were walking side by side outside the third gymnasium. Fukurodani's ace had a volleyball in his hands and he was tossing it over his head and catching it again while they walked, talking about nothing specific. They just finished their first training session with Tsukki from Karasuno, and it had been pretty good, actually. The kid had a lot of potential, they both thought that. Usually at that point Akaashi was supposed to be with them, but he had already hit the showers with the boys from Nekoma who showed up to help them practice, while Bokuto and Kuroo had wanted to stay a little longer than the rest. That was the moment that changed everything forever.</p>
<p>"Bo, there's something I need to tell you" Kuroo started to say, attracting his friend's attention. Bokuto stopped the ball in his hands and turned towards Nekoma's captain, a questioning look on his face.</p>
<p>"Sure. What is it?" he asked, waiting to receive some kind of explanation. After all, Kuroo seemed to be a little nervous, and that was a first. They'd been friends for a while now, and he'd never seen Kuroo looking like that.</p>
<p>"I... shit, I don't know how to say it..." Kuroo tried, but he failed and Bokuto remained in silence, waiting for the other to finally manage to speak properly. They even stopped walking, while Bokuto studied his friend in silence. "I..." Kuroo tried again, but nothing.</p>
<p>"You can tell me anything, you know that, right? We're best friends, right?" Bokuto tried to encourage the other. Sure, maybe he didn't exactly think of Kuroo as his best friend after all. He'd had the biggest crush on him since their first year of high school, but at the same time he didn't want the other to know that. They had a good friendship going on, and he didn't want his stupid feelings to ruin it. Especially because he wasn't exactly sure about them. Well, okay, he knew that he really liked Kuroo, but at the same time he valued their friendship more than anything else, and that was the reason why he would have never made a move on the other. In other words, if he had to choose between having Kuroo as his friend or as his boyfriend, at that stage in life he would have chosen friendship.</p>
<p>Kuroo finally took a deep breath and talked. "I... I'm in love with you" he finally managed to spit out, leaving Bokuto bewildered. </p>
<p>Well, he didn't expect that. At all. He hadn’t even known if Kuroo liked him at all or not, therefore he would have never imagined Kuroo to be in love with him. He had his mouth slightly open while he stared at his friend, almost expecting the other to just say that he was kidding, because was it even possible? He'd had a crush on Kuroo for a long time, and now his friend was telling him that he was <i>in love</i> with Bokuto? It was crazy just to think about it!</p>
<p>Bokuto, however, didn't know what to reply to that. Even though his friend was apparently in love with him, Bokuto wasn't sure if he wanted to act on his feelings anyway. They were in their last year of high school, meaning that it was Bokuto's last chance to win at nationals. He needed to stay focused on volleyball, if he wanted to be sure that he was going to make a career out of it. He didn't want to have any distractions during that year, and having a relationship sure would have been a huge one. And what if things went wrong between them? He didn't want to ruin his friendship with Kuroo because he was an idiot who couldn't stop himself from following his heart! Their friendship had to come first.</p>
<p>He needed to shut it down before it even started. He needed to put an end to it all. He needed to tell Kuroo that no, he didn't love him back, and that there could have never been anything between them. It would have been a lie, he knew that already, because he indeed had feelings for the other, but at the same time he couldn't do anything different at the moment.</p>
<p>Therefore he told Kuroo that they had a good thing going on as friends, just like they were at the moment, and that he didn't want things to change. The other didn't take it well, though. In fact, Bokuto witnessed his friend clench his fists and immediately avert his gaze. Even though Kuroo was quick, he could still see the other start crying in silence, and that sight almost broke his heart, but he couldn't go back on his words. Or maybe he could? He didn't want to see Kuroo like that, he wanted his friend to smile! Seeing Kuroo in pain hurt like hell.</p>
<p>Was he going to hate himself for breaking his friend's heart? Was he going to be able to live with it? Maybe not, after all. Maybe they could have really been happy together, and they could have had a relationship that was even better than the friendship he so much wanted to protect.</p>
<p>"Kuroo..." he started to say, raising a hand to reach out for him, but it was too late. Kuroo turned his back on him and ran away.</p>
<p>From that moment on, everything went back to normal. They remained friends as they'd always been, they kept joking around and practicing volleyball together, but there was something different. Something that only Bokuto could see, as Kuroo was an incredibly good actor after all. He could mask his true feelings from everyone, but not from Bokuto. Who was, indeed, very sorry for having caused Kuroo that kind of suffering, because he was feeling the same pain as well. </p>
<p>A few weeks later, Bokuto was feeling anxious, and guilty. And most of all, he was regretting his choice, more than anything. Because he returned Kuroo's feelings, he knew that for sure now. He was in love with Kuroo, and he didn't know how to tell him. He wanted to go back in time and change his reply to Kuroo's confession, to make sure that he never broke the other's heart. Because he couldn't just go to Kuroo and tell him that he was in love with him now, it would have never worked. Kuroo would have never accepted it, after how much Bokuto had hurt him.</p>
<p>That was the reason why Bokuto didn't do anything at all. He just kept quiet, silent, and went on acting like they always had. They remained friends, very good friends, almost best friends, and nothing else. Soon, Bokuto started learning to live with that feeling of things being incredibly wrong, but at the same time knowing that there was no way to change them.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <b>Restaurant in Tokyo, two months later</b>
</p>
<p>Some time had passed, and the last training camp of the year was approaching. The first few rounds of qualifications for nationals were gone, and only the play-offs remained. Just a few teams had qualified, as usual, and among those teams only three were going to make it. Fukurodani was, of course, one of the last remaining teams. And surprisingly Nekoma was among those teams as well, meaning that there was a possibility that they could manage to qualify for nationals as well.</p>
<p>After volleyball practice, sometimes the third-years went out for a quick dinner together. They even had a favorite restaurant, where Shirofuku was the champion of every eating contest they ever held. Since the restaurant owner respected – and feared - her a lot, he always kept a good table for their group every time they went there. Sometimes Akaashi joined the third-years as well, but not always. Most of the times, in fact, he just preferred to excuse himself and go home to study. Which was exactly what he did after that particularly tiring day of practice.</p>
<p>That was the reason why the third-years were alone when they entered the restaurant, going to sit at their usual table. They ordered a dish each, with the exception of Bokuto and Shirofuku. The girl ordered the entire menu, and the boy tried to follow right behind her. After all, they had a great friendship that could also be considered a rivalry, where Bokuto tried his best to defeat the girl at any kind of eating contest, and he always ended with a stomach ache, sometimes even throwing up, and of course on the losing side. That day, he only ordered five dishes from the menu, knowing that he could have never managed to eat more than that without getting sick.</p>
<p>When their food started to arrive and everyone was eating, they ended up talking about nationals. It was going to be the last time for all of them, since that was their last year of high school after all. Meaning that they didn't have any other occasions to shine in front of everyone. Bokuto knew that he needed to demonstrate a lot that year during nationals, if he wanted to be scouted for a professional team after high school. He wasn't the college type of person, after all, he just wanted to play volleyball all the time.</p>
<p>"Well, maybe it won't be the last for everyone. I believe Bokuto will risk repeating the year if he doesn't do better in his next exams" Konoha commented, making the entire group laugh. Well, everyone except for the object of the conversation.</p>
<p>"Hey hey hey! Not fair! Akaashi is helping me study a lot!" Bokuto whined when he felt hit exactly where it hurt by the topic of discussion.</p>
<p>"Come on Konoha, be nice. Bokuto is doing his best" Shirofuku added, patting Bokuto's hair while she talked. She flattened his hair a little with her gesture, but it kept going back up as soon as she removed her hand anyway.</p>
<p>"Yukippe is the only one who understands me here! You all suck!" Bokuto theatrically declared, hugging the girl who was sitting right next to him. She laughed at that, patting his back before trying to free herself from his grip and barely succeeding.</p>
<p>"In a week we'll have our last training camp as well" Sarukui mentioned, catching everyone's attention. From there, the discussion was focused on the training camp. They started discussing possibilities, and new tricks that they might have tried during that camp. They needed to put together a strategy to use against Itachiyama at the play-offs, since they were sure that they were going to face that team at some point in order to qualify for nationals. They knew that their coach was the one in charge of coming up with strategies, but at the same time they wanted to contribute as much as they could, especially considering that it was going to be their last chance to do it.</p>
<p>Talking about that training camp, however, made everyone nostalgic. They all had a wonderful time during previous training camps, and no one wanted it to end. Training camp, after all, was the best part of their training, and they all felt the same. Bokuto more than anyone else, considering that training camp was where he first met Kuroo during their first year, and where he fell in love with said friend. He couldn't think about training camp, however, without remembering what happened during one specific camp, the one in which Kuroo confessed to him and Bokuto turned him down because he was an idiot.</p>
<p>He got lost in his own thoughts, and he stopped listening to what the others were saying. He only got back to the present when he heard Sarukui say something interesting. "We should make a promise: to make the most out of this last training camp. Living those days as if they were our last!" he stated, and everyone around the table started nodding and agreeing with him.</p>
<p>Living those days as if they were their last... what an interesting idea! Sure, probably Sarukui was talking about volleyball, and some of the others seemed to think the same, considering the direction the conversation took right after the boy’s suggestion, but Bokuto's head was gravitating towards something else entirely. He didn't care about what the others thought, he couldn't even see what the expressions were on the faces of his friends, all he cared about was what <i>he</i> was going to do.</p>
<p>If he was going to live the last weekend of his life, what was he going to do with that time? Sure, he was going to play a lot of volleyball, and show everyone that he was the best. He was also going to eat enough to throw up, because he couldn't die on an empty stomach. But after that? The only thing he could think about was to amend a mistake he made in the past. He shouldn't have turned Kuroo down. He should have told him that he loved him too, and that he wanted to be more than friends.</p>
<p>All of the third-years ended up making that promise to each other: to live that training camp as if those were their last days. Some of them took it more literally than others, and of course Bokuto was one of them. Because if he was going to die right after training camp, there was one thing that he needed to do: he needed to confess his love to Kuroo, and make his friend forgive him for turning him down. He needed to make Kuroo love him again, since he was pretty sure that the other didn't have feelings for him anymore after what he did.</p>
<p>But how to accomplish that? He needed to do something big, some grand gesture that was going to state how crazy in love he was. He needed to show Kuroo that he didn't want him to come second after anything. He was Bokuto's first thought, and he needed to know it. Bokuto needed to show him how much he loved him.</p>
<p>All he needed, at that point, was to come up with a good plan.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Wind</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>From here on, Bokuto really tries his best to woo Kuroo. There will be a Bokuto grand gesture each chapter starting from this one.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Fukurodani Academy, two days to training camp</b>
</p>
<p>Bokuto spent too much time thinking about what he was going to do at training camp to confess his love to Kuroo. He needed the other to really believe him, and that was the reason why he needed the gesture to be huge and sensational. Something public, that everyone could see, just to demonstrate that he wanted that relationship to happen after all. But he also knew that he couldn't do it alone, and that was the reason why he decided to ask for help. Who could he ask though?</p>
<p>The first person he thought about was Akaashi. The second-year, however, didn't seem to be too interested in helping him come up with a plan, and all he told Bokuto was to concentrate on studying instead of thinking about love confessions. But Akaashi couldn't understand, because he'd never been in love. He'd never been in Bokuto's position. Also, his friend was so level-headed that he'd never made a mistake so huge that he didn't know how to fix it. And turning Kuroo down had been that kind of mistake for Bokuto: a huge one that he wanted to make Kuroo forgive and forget.</p>
<p>If Akaashi didn't want to help him, though, he needed to ask someone else. That was how he ended up creating a group chat including Hinata, Tsukki and Lev. He wasn't sure of how the three first-years could have even been of help, but he needed more heads to think together, and Tsukki was some kind of a genius, so maybe he was going to help him in some way. Plus, Lev was on Kuroo's team, meaning that he could be his spy. And Hinata had the right spirit, he was always so positive, that he was going to influence Bokuto the right way and help him boost his own morale. Yes, they were the perfect people to help him!</p>
<p>He told them that he needed to do something big, but they didn't have any ideas to suggest. Well, except for Tsukki, who told him to just go ahead and confess to Kuroo face to face. But that wasn't going to work, of course. He didn't want to just tell Kuroo that he loved him like any other boring person. If he didn't do any grand gestures, the other was never going to believe him, and he was never going to love Bokuto back! That was the reason why circumstances were important.</p>
<p>In the end, since the others couldn't be of any help, he decided to start by baking Kuroo a cake. He was going to give him a cake with some cheesy line written in icing, maybe containing a pun of some kind, and he was going to begin with that. He was going to blow Kuroo's mind! All he needed at that point was a cook book with a good recipe for a cake.</p>
<p>The problem was that he couldn't cook at all, let alone bake a cake. He asked his mother for a cook book and she gave it to him, but when he tried to use the home economics classroom to bake the cake during lunch break on a Thursday, he realized that baking was way more difficult than it looked. He accidentally set fire to the classroom, action that put him in detention for a month. He was going to clean each classroom after volleyball practice for the entire month, and he couldn't do anything about it.</p>
<p>Since the punishment started the same day as he set fire to the classroom, he had a huge problem: how was he going to buy a cake, if he was supposed to stay at school until late? Because if he couldn't bake a cake himself, he needed to order one of course. That was when he decided to delegate. He asked the boys from Karasuno for help, because he couldn't ask someone who was on Kuroo's team. Lev would have never been able to hide a cake on the bus to training camp, considering that Kuroo was with him. </p>
<p>Tsukki refused to lend any kind of help, but Hinata agreed and he assured Bokuto that he was going to take care of it.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <b>Fukurodani Academy, Saturday early morning</b>
</p>
<p>That weekend, training camp was going to take place at Fukurodani. Bokuto was anxious, while he paced back and forth in the parking lot, waiting for the other schools to arrive. His fellow third-years all had determined expressions on their faces, they all seemed to be ready to make the most out of that training camp experience; and Bokuto wanted to do the same, he really did. All he needed to do was to make sure that he was able to tell Kuroo how he felt.</p>
<p>The first team to arrive was Nekoma, since their school was also the closest. Bokuto greeted everyone with a smile, even though that smile faltered a little while giving Kuroo a friendly hug. He was more tense than he'd ever been with his friend, because this time he knew that things between them were going to change one way or another. If Kuroo was going to accept his confession, then they were going to be more than just friends. If he wasn't, then their friendship was probably over anyway. In any case, they weren't going to be friends anymore by the end of that training camp.</p>
<p>Lev was loud, and he almost blew Bokuto's cover when he greeted Fukurodani's captain by yelling that he was ready to help however he could. He raised suspicion in a few people, but luckily nobody said much after that.</p>
<p>Shinzen was the next school to arrive, and then finally Karasuno got there. They'd traveled all night, as usual, in order to get to Tokyo early enough in the morning. Hinata was the first one to get off the bus the moment they arrived, and he immediately skipped towards Bokuto.</p>
<p>"Do you have it?" Bokuto asked his pupil with a soft whisper.</p>
<p>"Of course! It's on the bus!" the other replied, letting Bokuto know that he had the cake with him. Great, the plan was moving forward perfectly. Now all that Bokuto needed to do was to give Kuroo the cake and use it to tell him that he wanted to be together forever.</p>
<p>He'd asked Hinata to have the cake shaped like Kuroo's head, and to put a joke on it written in icing. He'd even been able to come up with a very good one. <i>I want to eat your face</i> was the pun he asked Hinata to put on the cake. It wasn't too elaborated, but it was going to have a great impact for sure!</p>
<p>When Ubugawa arrived as well, all of the teams started to head towards the gym, ready to begin warmups before the first practice matches. That was the moment in which Hinata retrieved the cake from the bus and gave it to Bokuto. The cake was inside a cardboard container, making it impossible for Bokuto to look at it, but after all he didn't need to: Hinata had assured him that he'd ordered the exact kind of cake that Bokuto had asked him to. Tsukki, who was passing right beside them with his friend Yamaguchi, gave them a questioning look.</p>
<p>"Thank you for the cake, it's going to be awesome!" Bokuto stated, and he took a few steps towards the gym in order to give Kuroo the cake, when Tsukki's voice caught his attention.</p>
<p>"Hinata, when did you have the time to take care of the cake? Weren't you studying late with Yachi-san for an English test?" the taller boy asked, and Bokuto turned in his direction at that.</p>
<p>The short middle blocker blushed, passing a hand behind his head. "Well yes, so I delegated the cake to the person I trust the most in the team" the boy stated.</p>
<p>For some reason, after a moment of silence Tsukki burst out laughing. “This is going to be interesting” Tsukki stated, a smirk lingering on his lips.</p>
<p>Beside him, Yamaguchi gave him a questioning look, not understanding what they were talking about. Bokuto couldn't understand the situation either. He imagined that the person Hinata trusted the most was Kageyama, but he had no idea of what the problem was. Of course he had no idea of the fact that Kageyama had a few spelling issues with anything that wasn’t simple katakana, and that he should have checked the cake before offering it to Kuroo. And Tsukki made sure not to tell him any of that, getting ready to laugh at the result instead.</p>
<p>That was the reason why Bokuto was pretty sure that he was doing the best thing in the world, when he walked inside the gym carrying the cake. Everyone was already settling down, ready to start warmups, and Bokuto walked proudly towards Kuroo, who was distracted talking to Sawamura and Sugawara from Karasuno and therefore had not noticed his arrival.</p>
<p>"Hey hey hey, Kuroo! I found something for you!" Bokuto yelled, attracting everyone's attention. That was perfect, the moment he was waiting for. Kuroo turned towards him, a smirk on his face, but his eyes showed how curious he was to find out what was happening. Everyone else inside the gym got attracted by his voice, including the coaches, therefore pretty soon everyone was looking at Bokuto and Kuroo.</p>
<p>The ace had his arms outstretched in front of him, and the cardboard container was perfectly balanced on top of them. He had a face-splitting grin curving his lips, and he was looking straight at Kuroo. "I found this for you!" he said, without specifying who it was from. After all, Kuroo knew him well enough to understand that it was indeed from him. All he needed to do was read the pun to understand that Bokuto was the only person who could have come up with something like that.</p>
<p>His friend gave him a questioning look, before he took another step towards Bokuto, and he reached forward to open the cardboard box containing the cake. Kuroo's hands were quick and delicate at the same time, and Bokuto had chills while watching them work. He couldn't wait to yell at Kuroo that he loved him, but all of his good intentions got punched out of him when the cake came into sight. It was beautiful indeed, shaped exactly like Kuroo's head, and it looked pretty good as well, but there was something definitely off with it.</p>
<p>The sentence written with the icing was all <i>wrong</i>! Bokuto dropped his jaw in shock. What the hell was that? He raised his eyes to Kuroo, who was staring at the cake as well, frowning slightly. The sentence on top stated: <i>I want to hit your face</i>.</p>
<p>"Is that a threat?" Kuroo asked, perplexed, while other people started approaching the two of them to take a look at whatever was inside the cardboard box. Bokuto started panicking, not knowing what to do, and the only thing he could think about was to throw the cake in the air and jump back. The cake flew out of its container, flipped three times in midair sending frosting and custard flying everywhere, and then it landed perfectly on top of Kuroo's head.</p>
<p>Bokuto wanted to cry. That really <i>wasn't</i> how he had expected it to go! After a first moment of bewildered silence, the entire gym burst out laughing, Tsukki almost doubled over, and Bokuto had to laugh as well along with everyone else in order not to rouse any suspicion, but at the same time he felt incredibly uncomfortable. That sensation, however, didn't last for long, because with cake caught in his hair, Kuroo was yelling his name and chasing after him. Bokuto had to run faster than the wind in order to escape him. Luckily, however, that was his own school, and at least he knew where to go hide near the gymnasium.</p>
<p>That was how Bokuto's first try went to hell, and Fukurodani's captain barely avoided a good beating by the hands of the guy he wanted to declare his love to.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>In this chapter I put a little twist on the fact that Kageyama can't read kanji, changing the situation a little bit so that it would fit the spelling mistake on the cake. I hope it doesn't seem too forced!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Earth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I said before that this story has short chapters, but this one is the shortest out of all of them.<br/>Bokuto's first attempt to woo Kuroo has already gone to hell, time for attempt number two.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Fukurodani Academy, Saturday mid-morning</b>
</p>
<p>The morning matches continued, and Bokuto didn't have much time to think about his problems. He needed to stay concentrated on volleyball while they played. Of course Nekoma sat out the first round of matches, considering that their captain needed to take a shower before re-entering the gym, and that meant that Bokuto couldn't spend any more time thinking about what to do next. He excelled during the first set against Ubugawa, even though he almost tripped while trying to receive a mean serve from Goura and he almost made a fool of himself. An outside observer would have commented that he had already made enough of a fool of himself for that morning, but Bokuto was still being positive about that whole ordeal, and he tried not to think about his utter failure with the cake. He was going to strangle Hinata for the embarrassing mistake, of course, but that was another story entirely.</p>
<p>In between matches, the players didn't have much time to catch their breath. Only about ten minutes, maybe a little more for those who didn't have to do any penalties. Luckily, Fukurodani was still the strongest team out there, and they managed to win every set that morning.</p>
<p>After finishing their second set, Bokuto went to sit on the stairs right outside the gym, back against the wall, thinking hard on what to do next. Surprisingly, Kuroo joined him soon after. Nekoma had won against Karasuno, so he didn't have do to any penalties either. "What was that with the cake earlier?" the middle blocker tried to ask, and Bokuto panicked. On the plus side, he wasn’t trying to kill Bokuto anymore for splattering a cake on his head.</p>
<p>"That's nothing, absolutely nothing. I found that cake addressed to you, that's all. It was funny, though, don't you think?" Fukurodani's captain outright lied. He wasn't a good liar, he wasn’t good at all, but at the moment he sure couldn't tell the truth!</p>
<p>Kuroo didn't seem to be entirely convinced, but in the end he just sighed. "I can't believe you can really spike with those crappy hands you have, when you can't even hold a cake!" the taller boy commented. Then, with a smirk on his face, he let Bokuto alone and went back to his team.</p>
<p>Bokuto wasn't sure if he was supposed to sigh in relief or get more agitated, at that point. He opted for a combination of both. He stood back up and started walking back inside as well.</p>
<p>Before the beginning of the following match, he approached Tsukki, who was standing aside alone with Yamaguchi, who apparently was the only person at Karasuno whose presence he tolerated. That boy sure had a strange personality... but that wasn't the time to comment on Tsukki's relational skills. "Tsukkiiiiii!" he almost yelled, when he was close enough to cause discomfort in the other person without attracting too much attention from the other people in the gym.</p>
<p>The first-year tried to ignore his presence, but it was a difficult task, because Bokuto was very loud and overwhelming, and impossible to avoid. "I need to ask you a question. What do people usually give other people as a gift when they are in love?" he asked, but the boy only sighed in reply, turning his head the other way. He really didn't want to cooperate, did he?</p>
<p>He was about to start pressing him, when his friend replied instead. "What about flowers?" Yamaguchi said, innocently answering Bokuto's question since he wasn't aware of the entire situation the older boy was in. That answer made Bokuto smile brightly.</p>
<p>"Hey hey hey! You're a genius, Tsukki's friend! Thank you!" he yelled, arms in the air. After that he ran away, not even hearing as the boy tried to call after him telling him that his name was Yamaguchi. That definitely wasn't important at the moment.</p>
<p>Flowers. He needed to find flowers!</p>
<p>Fukurodani was going to sit out the next match, which was perfect, because it gave Bokuto time to go looking for the perfect flowers to gift to Kuroo. He ended up finding a few roses, and he paid attention not to sting his fingers on the thorns as he picked them up. He took five roses, and he hid them behind his back as he walked back towards the gym, where everyone else was either playing or watching the matches.</p>
<p>Sneaking inside, his intention was to reach the towel that Kuroo was using to dry his sweaty forehead in between sets. That was definitely going to be the perfect place to hide the flowers, so that Kuroo was going to find them as soon as he picked up the towel at the end of the match. After all, he usually didn't have much time to use it when he walked out of the court while switching with Yaku. As he approached Nekoma's bench, Bokuto signaled Lev to stay quiet and to cover for him in some way. The tall middle blocker, who currently was out of the court because Kuroo was in the front and Yaku in the back, nodded before starting to blabber out loud about what was happening on court, distracting everyone who was around him, coaches included.</p>
<p>That way, nobody was paying any attention to Bokuto, who could be free to open Kuroo's towel, hide the roses inside it and then fold it back in half. Once his task was complete, he tiptoed away and went to sit beside the rest of his team. Akaashi gave him a questioning look, but he didn't express his doubts out loud. Which was great, because it meant that Bokuto didn't really have to explain.</p>
<p>When the match was over, and Nekoma had lost against Shinzen, they did their lap of flying falls and Bokuto watched them. He wasn't sure what he appreciated the most about it, if Kenma's complaining or Kuroo's shirt slightly uncovering his abs every time he moved to dive to the ground. Okay, maybe what he appreciated the most was Kuroo's skin showing, after all, but the expression on Kenma’s face was a strong second place.</p>
<p>Then, after the penalty, Kuroo went back to his stuff and picked up a bottle of water, from which he took a couple of sips. Bokuto didn't miss a single second of his actions, just waiting for the moment in which Kuroo was going to pick up the towel. And then he did, but the roses didn't fall as Bokuto had expected. Instead, the boy started toweling his face, before letting go of the towel with a yelp. When the towel fell to the ground, everyone in the vicinity had their eyes on Kuroo, who looked astonished, his face red and full of scratches.</p>
<p>Bokuto's eyes shot wide open, as Kuroo crouched down and let the roses fall from within the towel. He'd been scratched by the thorns, that Bokuto had absolutely not even considered taking off the roses. Shit, he could have lost an eye or something! Bokuto almost panicked at that thought. Luckily Kuroo was mostly fine, but he didn't seem to be happy about the roses he'd received. Not after those flowers had attempted at his face, of course.</p>
<p>As coach Nekomata approached him to check if he was okay, the boy used the towel to pick up the roses and went to the door in order to toss them outside. Then he took a good look around the gym, as if he was studying the place to find out who could have put those flowers there for him. Bokuto sighed when the other boy looked past his position without lingering on him. He didn't want his friend to know it was him now, of course, because Kuroo had gotten hurt from what was supposed to be his declaration of love.</p>
<p>Another attempt had failed, then, meaning that Bokuto needed to think of something else.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Water</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Starting this week, this fic will be updating on <span class="u">Wednesdays</span> instead of Tuesdays. This is because, starting next week, I'll have another story that will be updating on Tuesdays.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Fukurodani Academy, Saturday at lunch</b>
</p>
<p>When it was time to stop for lunch, Bokuto followed the rest of the players towards the school cafeteria. The managers were as always in charge of their meals, and they usually prepared both lunches and dinners that seemed more like banquets. That Saturday, however, all the boys could find on the tables of the cafeteria was an incredibly huge amount of sandwiches. Some of them complained, but at that point Suzumeda had to step in and explain the situation.</p>
<p>"No students are allowed to use any of the school kitchens without a supervisor, after Bokuto set fire to the home economics classroom for trying to cook unsupervised, the other day. This is all we could manage to put together without having to cook" the girl explained. After she finished talking, most of the people around were laughing, and almost all of them were looking at Bokuto, who tried his best not to get affected by it. He avoided a few murderous stares, nonchalantly hiding behind Washio, and then he started eating voraciously the first sandwich he could put his hands on.</p>
<p>Bokuto spent most of the free time they had for lunch hiding from people who were commenting on the fact that he'd successfully set fire to a school classroom. Some of them also wanted to know if he'd done it on purpose or by accident, and for once in his life Bokuto wasn't welcoming the attention he was receiving. He needed a little peace and quiet, in order to come up with the next plan to confess to Kuroo.</p>
<p>He ended up going to sit in a corner of the cafeteria, and from there he observed what the others were doing. In particular, his attention was caught by Komi and Konoha, who kept giving each other encouraging pushes towards something. Bokuto tried to follow the direction their eyes were looking, and he found them gazing at Shimizu from Karasuno. Sure, she was a nice girl and all, but he had to admit that he had never actually noticed before how many of the boys from all of the schools had huge crushes on her. Bokuto didn’t like her though, as she was too serious and shy for his taste; in his opinion, Kuroo was way better.</p>
<p>And speaking of crushes, both Konoha and Komi were risking to be crushed to death, because the moment they noticed the two eyeing Shimizu, immediately Tanaka, Nishinoya and Yamamoto appeared out of nowhere and started glaring at the two. Bokuto almost laughed at the scene, then he tried to concentrate a little more on what he wanted to accomplish. Because at that rate, he was never going to succeed.</p>
<p>By the end of the lunch break, he already had another plan in mind, one for which he needed help from Lev, considering how insanely tall he was. He was going to fill a bucket with only flower petals, so that he wasn't going to repeat the same mistake he made with the roses and the thorns, and he was going to make sure that the bucket spilled its contents on Kuroo when he was passing under it. This time he knew for sure that his plan was going to work!</p><hr/>
<p>
  <b>Fukurodani Academy, Saturday afternoon</b>
</p>
<p>It took a while to fill a bucket of flower petals. Bokuto had both Hinata and Lev help him whenever possible, but he did most of the work himself. In addition to flower petals, they also put entire flowers inside the bucket, but without the stems, so that they couldn't have a way to hurt Kuroo by mistake.</p>
<p>Only when the afternoon matches were almost over the plan was ready. Bokuto had Hinata climb on Lev's shoulders in order to reach a tree branch that was pretty high, and set the bucket up there. What Bokuto hadn't thought about, however, was how to make sure that the bucket spilled its contents once Kuroo was under it. So okay, maybe his plan wasn't perfect after all. But it sure had room for improvement, and Bokuto was going to get there eventually. Quickly, if possible.</p>
<p>During a break in between sets, all of the players were taking a breather outside, where there was a fresh breeze that was just what they all needed after playing for hours. Bokuto begged Tsukki to take Kuroo to their marked spot under the tree, and even though the younger boy didn't seem to be interested in helping, he ended up accepting to do just one favor to Bokuto, and nothing more, with the promise that after that he was going to be left alone. Soon, the two of them were talking under the tree, Kuroo positioned in the perfect spot. It was time to act.</p>
<p>The best idea he got in order to have the bucket spill its content on Kuroo was to hit it with a volleyball. After all, since they were at a volleyball training camp, a ball flying around and hitting a tree by mistake would have never roused any suspicion. That's the reason why Bokuto took Hinata with him and the two of them started tossing the ball back and forth, to make it seem that the they were just playing. After a few tosses, however, he aimed perfectly in the direction of the tree and spiked with all of his power.</p>
<p>The ball got lost among the branches and leaves of the tree, but the noise it made was enough to make both Kuroo and Tsukki raise their heads with curiosity. That was exactly when the whole bucket fell on top of Kuroo. It didn't just spill its contents, it outright fell on him. Kuroo ended up being showered with flowers when the bucket obscured his field of vision, covering his head completely.</p>
<p>Even from the distance, Bokuto could hear Kuroo's exclamation of surprise. The problem was that the bucket wasn't the only thing that fell on him. The force of the spike had brought the ball to take down a hive, that fell down along with the ball. As the ball hit the top of the bucket right before Kuroo managed to take it off his head, the hive fell at Kuroo's feet and smashed.</p>
<p>At that point, everyone in the vicinity started running as fast as they could, while the bees surged from their destroyed hive and started attacking at random. Kuroo was of course the first person they encountered, so he barely managed to free his head from the bucket before the was attacked by the bees.</p>
<p>People were screaming, the situation was degenerating too fast, but luckily Karasuno's coach Ukai was quick enough to think of a solution. He took a nearby hose and started hitting the bees with water. He drenched Kuroo, but at least he managed to get the bees away from him before they could do too much damage. He got, however, more than a few stings.</p>
<p>Both Bokuto and Hinata ran to him as soon as he was free from the bees, worried sick and feeling guilty. "Kuroo, are you okay?" Bokuto immediately asked, alarmed.</p>
<p>Kuroo eyed him with worry, before he started biting at his lower lip. He looked around, obviously uncomfortable. "I think somebody is trying to kill me" he stated, making Bokuto feel the strong desire to punch himself in the face. He wanted to declare his love to Kuroo, and that was what he'd done instead.</p>
<p>Since the entire bee commotion still hadn't died down, and most of the students from the five schools were still on edge because of what had happened, the coaches agreed that the break was going to be longer at that point. Especially since Kuroo needed a trip to the infirmary to see the school nurse.</p>
<p>"I'll take you to the infirmary. I know very well where it is" Bokuto stated. Without even thinking about what he was doing, he took Kuroo's hand and started guiding him towards the main school building, where other clubs were practicing at the moment, and some teachers were having supplemental classes for their worst students. During the entire walk, he never let go of Kuroo's hand, and he was glad to see that the other wasn't letting go of him either. It was nice, something that Bokuto would have wanted to be able to do forever.</p>
<p>They kept holding hands when they got to the infirmary, where the nurse was spending her Saturday afternoon adjusting files about the school students. Her eyes shot wide open as soon as she heard someone approach her. "Oh Bokuto-kun, what did you do this time?" she asked, pretty worried. After all, she was used to seeing Bokuto get sent to her with the strangest injuries she'd ever encountered in years working inside a school.</p>
<p>"It's not me this time, it's my friend. He was attacked by bees" Bokuto immediately explained, before slightly pulling at Kuroo. Only then he let go of his friend's hand, even though he didn't want to, and he gently pushed Kuroo forward.</p>
<p>The nurse held her breath when she saw him. He was completely wet, his face red with scratches, and several parts of his body had bee stings. "Poor boy, what happened to you?" she asked, but Kuroo preferred not to answer, and just sighed instead.</p>
<p>The woman had Kuroo sit on the bed located at one end of the room, and she asked him to remove his t-shirt. Bokuto inhaled deeply as his friend took off the piece of clothing, but he never looked away even for a second. Kuroo, however, was looking anywhere but at Bokuto. Did it mean that the other boy was blaming him for what had happened to him that day? Because he wouldn't have been wrong if he did. Bokuto, however, needed to make sure that his friend understood his best intentions.</p>
<p>He waited patiently while the nurse applied ointments on the bee stings, and then she bandaged Kuroo until he looked pretty much like a mummy. Only then she allowed him to go back to the gym, asking him to please take it easy with volleyball for the rest of the day. He nodded, but Bokuto knew him well enough to be sure that he was going to do the exact opposite of what he had just promised.</p>
<p>The moment the two of them were alone again, Bokuto reached forward to grab Kuroo's hand again. The other, however, dodged the touch. "Please don't" he whispered, before he started walking back towards the gym. Bokuto followed him, head lost in though. Kuroo hated him, then. He didn't love him anymore, not after the way Bokuto had turned him down when the other had confessed to him. It only meant one thing: what he was doing wasn't big enough. He needed the grandest gesture of all, in order to show Kuroo how much he loved him. He couldn't keep going for the small stuff, he needed something huge. Something that could scream his love without him even opening his mouth.</p>
<p>He needed to come up with a new plan.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Lightning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm so tired after a day at work that I was about to completely forget about the update, but by some miracle I was able to make it in time anyway...<br/>After this chapter, only two more to go :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Fukurodani Academy, Saturday evening</b>
</p>
<p>As they always did during their training camps, Bokuto and a few other boys decided to stay late after the end of the day's practice in order to play some more. The group was always the same: Bokuto, Akaashi, Kuroo, Hinata, Tsukki and Lev. Everyone there knew that Bokuto was trying to confess to Kuroo in a spectacular way, and even though Akaashi didn't want to have anything to do with it, he was still keeping an eye on the situation, especially after the entire bee incident. Tsukki didn't seem to be happy to help either, but he was doing his part somehow, even though reluctantly, which was still good.</p>
<p>The six of them were playing three on three, when Bokuto decided that it was time for another grand gesture. In that moment, he was in the same team with Kuroo and Lev, while they had Akaashi, Tsukki and Hinata on the other side of the net. Akaashi tossed, Tsukki spiked, Kuroo went for the block alone and stopped it. He almost looked pained, because he was probably still hurting from all of the bee stings he received, but he was still happy for the point scored.</p>
<p>That was the moment Bokuto chose to act. He jumped towards Kuroo, basically just throwing himself at the other boy. He had all the intention of complimenting him for the job well done by kissing him, right there in front of their friends. Unfortunately, however, that was also the moment Karasuno's managers chose to come in to inform them that dinner was ready, and their entrance distracted everyone. The distraction, unfortunately, brought to Kuroo turning abruptly in their direction, and his head getting in the way of Bokuto's overexcited flailing arms.</p>
<p>He just wanted to wrap his arms around Kuroo's neck, nothing more than that, and kiss the boy senseless. What he managed to do instead was to punch Kuroo in the face, fall on top of him and headbutt him on the nose. A moment of silence followed yet another failure on Bokuto's part, while Kuroo tried to get Bokuto off of him in order to get up again. Yachi was screaming in panic, even though Kuroo's nose luckily wasn't bleeding, while Shimizu advanced towards them in order to check on Kuroo. Akaashi, Hinata and Lev immediately got closer as well, the two first-years getting definitely agitated. Tsukki, on the other hand, was trying his best not to laugh out loud, something that Bokuto would have considered to be incredibly rude.</p>
<p>"What's wrong with you?" Kuroo managed to spit out towards Bokuto, once he was able to sit back up. He looked pissed, and Bokuto felt more guilty than ever. He watched as his friend massaged his face, and the entire time Bokuto chewed on his bottom lip in a very anxious way. Kuroo was right though, what the hell was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just make a good move without it ending in the worst possible way?</p>
<p>After that failure, they couldn't do anything other than go to dinner, trying to forget how badly that last action had ended.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <b>Fukurodani Academy, Saturday at dinner</b>
</p>
<p>Bokuto entered the cafeteria feeling dejected. Nothing was going as planned, and he was thinking about giving up. If those were his last days on Earth, however, he couldn't just stop trying. He was going to go down swinging! He needed Kuroo to understand how important he was to Bokuto.</p>
<p>He sat down to eat, finding out that the managers had miraculously received permission to cook for them, as long as they had a teacher to supervise them. Karasuno's Takeda-sensei had volunteered to help the girls cook, and together they had made a spectacular banquet for their dinner. Not even the marvelous food, however, was enough to cheer Bokuto up.</p>
<p>As he ate without much emphasis, his eyes fell on the challenge that was going on at the other end of the table he was sitting at. Shirofuku was trying to beat her personal record, apparently, trying to out-eat herself. Which wasn't an easy task, considering that she had already set any kinds of records. Seeing her eat with that much enthusiasm, however, made Bokuto feel a little better for a moment. He even stood up and walked closer, cheering for her together with the rest of his team and some curious members of the other teams.</p>
<p>The others seemed to be surprised, but not Fukurodani's players, as they knew their manager too well. "Let's go Yukippe, you can do it!" Bokuto yelled, standing now right behind the girl. He had a bowl of rice in one hand and chopsticks in the other, and he was still eating while cheering for his friend. She always won when he challenged her, and he hated it, but when she was going up against other opponents or she was trying to better her own records, Bokuto was always there to support her with everything he got.</p>
<p>She kept eating well after everyone else was full, and she didn't stop even when she had surpassed her previous record. At that rate, she was going to beat every kind of world record. She was indeed amazing.</p>
<p>What Bokuto didn't expect, however, was to see the girl start to struggle. That was actually a first, considering that she had never hesitated before, when it came to eating. She had always been great at it, as if she couldn't even get full or something. Bokuto was genuinely surprised when he saw her let her chopsticks fall, clutching her stomach.</p>
<p>A moment later, Suzumeda was by her side, along with Shinzen's manager. Apparently, those two girls had been fighting for a few months, but they were now back to being good friends. From what he'd heard from Komi, Suzumeda was the one who made the first step towards reconciliation with her friend from Shinzen.</p>
<p>Now the girls were trying to assist the one who didn't feel fine, and Bokuto immediately swept in as well. "Yukippe, are you okay?" he suddenly asked, trying his best to help physically support the girl. Their friendship was more on the rivalry side, but he still cared a lot about the girl.</p>
<p>She turned to look at Bokuto, not looking good at all. At that point, other boys from Fukurodani quickly moved over in order to help. Washio was the first one to go and help Bokuto pick up the girl, because they needed to keep her in an upright position if they didn't want to make things worse. It was too late though, because she ended up throwing up anyway. At least, luckily, not on them.</p>
<p>Most of the people in the cafeteria ran away screaming in disgust, while Hinata and Nishinoya from Karasuno seemed to be almost amazed. At that point, however, the coaches didn't have any other alternatives, and they had to call an ambulance.</p>
<p>The verdict came back one hour later: it was indigestion. Which was strange, because Bokuto never thought that anything like that could ever happen to Shirofuku. He'd never even seen her get actually full after a meal, so how could she have done so much damage? He just hoped she was going to get better soon.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <b>Fukurodani Academy, Saturday night</b>
</p>
<p>After the entire Shirofuku accident in the cafeteria, Bokuto had been restless. He was worried about the girl, and at the same time he was still depressed because he hadn't been able to confess his love to Kuroo. He needed to calm down, if he hoped to be able to sleep at some point. The problem was that he really didn't know how. That was why he decided to go for a walk outside, hoping to clear his mind a little.</p>
<p>On his walk, he found something that he definitely wasn't expecting. There was a group of Karasuno players, second and third-years from what he could see, who were probably trying to digest their dinner by training some more. With them was Shimizu, their hot manager. Bokuto wasn't attracted to her that much, but he wasn't blind, he knew that she was a beauty.</p>
<p>The girl was tossing balls to the boys, while they practiced with their synchronized attack. They were actually pretty good at it now, but they still tried to improve as much as they could, and Bokuto could only praise them for it. He peeked inside the gymnasium, watching what the group was doing, but soon a sound captured his attention. He noticed both Komi and Konoha looking inside the gym from a window. They seemed to be pretty interested, so he walked towards them.</p>
<p>"Whatcha doing? Spying on Karasuno? You don't have to worry about that, you know, we'll win against them tomorrow as well. We have never lost to them before" Bokuto commented towards his teammates.</p>
<p>They both looked uncomfortable, Komi even blushed. What was happening to them? Bokuto wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, that was for sure, and that was the reason why he didn't get the situation immediately. He remained with his teammates, however, talking about the practice games they were going to have the following day, trying to take his mind off the failures he'd experienced during the day. And they went on until the Karasuno group finished their extra practice and walked out of the gym. They were all smiling, even though they looked tired. Sawamura, however, had a proud attitude that Bokuto had rarely seen on him. Maybe he was just getting used to all those penalties, after all?</p>
<p>Bokuto then turned towards his teammates to tell them that it was time to go back inside for them as well, but Konoha and Komi weren't beside him anymore. He looked around and he found the two of them approaching Shimizu. Was really that what they were there for? To hit on the girl?</p>
<p>Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tanaka not take the situation very well. He growled pretty loudly, like some kind of beast, and Bokuto even found it funny to watch. As if attracted by that call, Nishinoya and Yamamoto appeared out of nowhere, and soon the three of them where standing between the girl and the two Fukurodani players. Bokuto blinked, surprised. He sure wasn't expecting that!</p>
<p>The three second-years started to advance in the direction of Bokuto's teammates, looking more than ever like wild predators. The two, however, didn't give up, and Bokuto could be proud of them for that. They were indeed living as if it was their last day on Earth. Which was probably true, considering the risk they were taking. They were, in fact, risking a painful death by challenging those three so openly.</p>
<p>Before Bokuto could even step forward and do something to help them, Komi and Konoha were running as fast as they could, with Tanaka, Nishinoya and Yamamoto following. At that point, the two were probably in real danger. Bokuto should have done something to help them, he was their captain and their friend after all, but the scene was so amusing that it was a pity to interrupt it. He ended up trying to stop the three attackers only when his teammates climbed a tree to hide there.</p>
<p>He was laughing, however, when he asked the rest of Karasuno to call off their attack dogs. Shimizu tried to call them back, while Sawamura grabbed both Tanaka and Nishinoya by their shirts and dragged them away. A few apologies later, and Karasuno's group was gone along with Yamamoto from Nekoma, finally allowing Konoha and Komi to get off the tree. Bokuto was laughing so much that he had tears in his eyes at that point. His teammates, however, weren't as joyful as he was.</p>
<p>In the end, he decided that probably it was better if he went back inside as well. He hadn't been able to find a way to confess to Kuroo, but he still had been able to have a little fun, which was good anyway.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Void</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Fukurodani Academy, Sunday morning</b>
</p>
<p>On Sunday, practice matches were only going to continue until the early afternoon. After that, each team was going to go back on their bus and get home. Bokuto didn't want to let that happen before he'd been able to declare his love to Kuroo. He was worried, however, because all of his attempts from the previous day had gone incredibly wrong. What was he going to do in order to make things better? He needed to do a grand gesture, and now more than ever he needed that gesture to be perfect. After the spectacular failures of the previous day, Kuroo was on guard, and he needed to impress the other boy even more because of that.</p>
<p>What to do though? He was still thinking, when he decided to approach Tsukki once again. He asked what the other thought that he could do, but the boy refused to answer. He only told Bokuto once again to just confess already and be done with it, but that wasn't so easy. He couldn't simply go to Kuroo and tell him he loved him. It wouldn't have been right! Why couldn't Tsukki understand that?</p>
<p>He then brought up the dilemma to Hinata, Lev and Akaashi. He hoped that his best friend could be of help, but he wasn't. Apparently, he didn't know how to declare love in a spectacular way, and he didn't want to know what Bokuto was planning to do either, because he was afraid that Bokuto was going to end up actually killing Kuroo at some point, and he didn’t want to have anything to do with that.</p>
<p>Lev, however, turned out to be the best person to help him in that situation. Apparently, he had a very hot sister who was admired by a lot of people. At first, Bokuto didn't understand where the boy was going with that, but the first-year then kept on explaining.</p>
<p>"My sister told me a few stories of people who tried to win her attention. You know, to confess to her" the boy explained, and at that point Bokuto was ready to listen. He couldn't wait to hear more about it, because if there was something in there that he could do in order to declare his love to Kuroo, he was absolutely not going to waste a chance!</p>
<p>Lev told him that some guy once tried to serenade her, even though he ended up going under the wrong window and he serenaded their parents instead, apparently. Bokuto thought about it, but he wasn't sure he was going to be good at that. He couldn't sing, which could have surely brought to hilarious situations, but at that moment he was aiming for something a little more serious.</p>
<p>Another thing Lev told him was one date his sister had with a guy who came to pick her up dressed as a prince, saying that he was her prince charming and that she was his princess. That idea was indeed interesting, but Bokuto couldn't use that either. For once, he didn't know where to find a prince costume on such a short notice; moreover, he didn't think that Kuroo was going to appreciate being called a princess.</p>
<p>The younger boy kept going on and on with possible options, and Bokuto listened closely to all of them. Then he decided to try with the one that seemed to fit their situation the most. They were ready to start the first match of the morning, and he knew exactly what he was supposed to do.</p>
<p>He wanted to sweep Kuroo off his feet. Quite literally, actually. He wanted to pick up the boy and make him understand how important he was for Bokuto. And for that he only had to wait for the right moment to arrive.</p>
<p>Fukurodani was sitting out the first set in the morning, so Bokuto sat down and watched as Nekoma played against Karasuno. It was a difficult match, and they seemed to be ready to crumble under Hinata and Kageyama's continuous quick sets. But their receives were as strong as ever, and they somehow managed to adjust until they won that set. Kuroo scored the last point, and Bokuto didn't think he was ever going to get a better occasion than that. He ran towards the court as soon as the match was over, he grabbed Kuroo by the hips and effortlessly picked him up. He raised his hands, and with that move he actually held Kuroo in the air.</p>
<p>The boy was surprised by that gesture, but he didn't seem to be about to complain. He just stared at Bokuto with a smirk on his face, and a questioning look in his eyes. It was time, then. The moment that Bokuto had been waiting for had finally come. All he needed to do was to tell Kuroo how much he loved him, right there in front of everyone, and then kiss him.</p>
<p>He pirouetted on the spot, still holding Kuroo with strong hands, in order to give more emphasis to the moment before he acted on his feelings. That, however, was probably a huge mistake. Because that was exactly when he lost his footing and fell. Since he was still holding Kuroo, the other didn't have many possibilities to plant his feet to the ground and stand on his own. Therefore he could only let go of a panicked cry while he fell backwards, hitting the back of his head against Lev's elbow and landing on the ground, Bokuto on top of him.</p>
<p>There was a moment of silence, in which everyone in the gym was trying to understand what just happened, then a yell erupted to surmount the chatter that was starting. "BOKUTOOOOOOO!" Well, that was his coach. It didn't seem to be a very promising start for a conversation.</p>
<p>As quick as he could, Bokuto got back up and offered Kuroo his hand, in order to help him up as well. The boy accepted his help, while with the other hand he was massaging his head in the spot that hit against Lev's bony elbow. He wasn't looking at Bokuto though, and Fukurodani's captain really couldn't blame him for it.</p>
<p>Glancing at Kuroo, Bokuto felt incredibly sorry. His friend had his face still full of red scratches, plus his face, arms and legs were almost entirely covered in bee stings, and he had a black eye from the punch he received the evening before. Now he was probably going to have a bump in the back of his head as well.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry..." he tried to apologize, but before Kuroo could say anything the two of them were separated.</p>
<p>Fukurodani's coach grabbed Bokuto by an arm and dragged him to a corner, reprimanding him for always being too exuberant, telling him that it was only a matter of time before his behavior got someone really hurt. He kept his eyes to the floor as he listened in silence, trying not to let it get to him too much. The problem, however, was that he couldn't stop trying to follow Kuroo's movements with the corner of his eye, just to make sure that his friend was okay.</p>
<p>In the meantime, he could see that coach Nekomata and a few Nekoma players were all standing beside Kuroo, checking his conditions, and soon Suzumeda joined them, before escorting the boy towards the infirmary to get checked out by the school nurse. That poor woman was a saint, but in a situation where Bokuto was on school property during the entire weekend, it was only fitting for the nurse to be working on Sundays as well, just to be on the safe side.</p>
<p>And that was yet another failure on Bokuto's part. At that point, he was starting to think that maybe he was supposed to give up. Maybe he wasn't supposed to succeed in declaring his love to Kuroo, after all. He kept quiet as he listened to his coach, then he walked towards Akaashi and sat down beside the setter, hugging his knees and hiding his face against them, his mood so dejected that even his hair looked deflated.</p>
<p>"You need to be more careful, Bokuto-san" Akaashi said, while trying to comfort his captain by caressing his back. The boy, however, started sobbing in silence, shaking a little but trying his best to hide his tears from everyone else in the gym.</p>
<p>"He will never understand how much I love him. He probably thinks that I hate him by now! I just keep hurting him!" he whined, while Akaashi still tried to console him the best he could.</p>
<p>"Why don't you just tell him and be done with it?" Tsukki asked, appearing beside Akaashi out of nowhere and squatting down to their height. Bokuto, however, only shook his head more. No, he couldn't do it just like that.</p>
<p>"I need to find a way, I need to think of something...." the boy tried again, and at that point he stood back up and started walking away, using the collar of his t-shirt to wipe away the tears from his reddened eyes.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <b>Fukurodani Academy, Sunday early afternoon</b>
</p>
<p>Bokuto still hadn't thought of a new plan. The matches were over for the day, and soon everyone was going to leave to get back home. The training camp was over, all of the third-years had been able to make the most out of it, except for Bokuto. He had failed at every attempt to confess to Kuroo, and now it was too late.</p>
<p>"Please help me, please give me more suggestions. He'll get back on that bus soon and then he'll be gone, and I would have lost my perfect chance!" Bokuto complained to Akaashi, Tsukki and Hinata, while the three looked at him with compassion.</p>
<p>Sure, he wanted to live as if those were his last days, but the truth was that <i>they weren't</i>. He could have still confessed to Kuroo another time, since his friend also lived in the same town as him, and they could see each other whenever they wanted. He still had all the time in the world. The problem was just one: was he ever going to find the courage to do it, if he let that training camp end? No, he needed to make another move before Kuroo got on Nekoma’s bus and left.</p>
<p>His friends looked at him with pity, and he couldn't do anything about it. They were treating him like an idiot, and Akaashi was even patting his back in a consoling way. He was getting from dejected to outright depressed, after being in that state for the entire day and even ending up costing two sets to Fukurodani. It had been the first time that Karasuno had ever managed to win against them, and it was all his fault.</p>
<p>That was the moment in which Tsukki really couldn't take it anymore. "I'm done with you. Done!" he cried, before stomping his feet on the way towards the players of Nekoma and Karasuno that were talking together.</p>
<p>In front of Bokuto's horrified gaze, Karasuno's middle blocker tapped Kuroo's shoulder to get his attention. The moment the boy turned towards him, Tsukki talked. "All of the accidents that happened to you since the beginning of training camp have been caused by Bokuto-san trying to tell you that he's in love with you" he spat out, loud enough that everyone could hear, a finger pointing in the direction of Bokuto.</p>
<p>Before Kuroo could have any kind of reaction, Tsukki turned towards Bokuto once again. "Done!" he stated, almost with rage in his voice. He looked really pissed, and Bokuto was starting to tremble, because now it was really out there. Kuroo knew, and he couldn't do anything about it.</p>
<p>Coach Nekomata called his team, asking them to get on the bus, but Kuroo didn't move, he just remained petrified on the spot staring at Bokuto, mouth slightly open. Bokuto panicked, and before the other could react in any way he just ran away to hide. When he came back out, all of the other teams were gone, and only Fukurodani remained.</p>
<p>"What was that all about? Are you really in love with <i>Kuroo</i>?" Konoha asked, not believing what he was saying. Bokuto lowered his head, feeling more dejected than ever, and he slowly nodded.</p>
<p>"Come on, cheer up! He looked kind of dead, but I think it was more because of the injuries than the confession. It doesn’t seem that he reacted too badly after all, he was just shocked. Maybe you have a chance?" Komi tried to make Bokuto feel better, patting him on the back with strength. That, however, didn't work at all. He didn't know what to do, and he wasn't even sure if his teammates were trying to cheer him up for real or if they were just making fun of him.</p>
<p>He kept his gaze on the ground, until he felt frail arms wrapping him in a tender embrace. He raised his head to find Shirofuku hugging him; she was feeling way better after her indigestion the evening before. He melted in that embrace, resting his head on top of the girl's, and tried to ground himself. His mind, however, was foggy after the events that just took place.</p>
<p>He'd lost his chance. Or rather, Kuroo now knew that Bokuto was in love with him, but since the confession hadn't been spectacular at all, and it had also come through <i>Tsukki</i> of all people, he couldn't even hope to receive a positive answer from his friend after that. All hope was gone.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>We're almost at the end. This was Bokuto's last failure. Next week we'll get to the conclusion!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Sugar</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And we got to the end of the story. I think that this is actually the only chapter I like out of the entire story... With this chapter we're changing pov, switching to someone else for the end.</p>
<p>I would like to thank everyone for getting this far in reading this. Even though this story is finished, regular updates for the other two fics I currently have ongoing will continue, and in a few weeks I hope I'll be able to start posting something new as well. Thanks everyone for the support you keep giving me! ^_^</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Nekoma High School, Monday morning</b>
</p>
<p>Kuroo paced back and forth in front of his classroom, not entirely sure if he could manage to stop. He hadn't slept that night, and he was feeling too restless to even consider the possibility of sitting down for the entire duration of his morning classes. He still couldn't believe what he'd heard the day before.</p>
<p>For the entire training camp, he'd thought that someone was out to get him, or that luck was turning her back at him, or something like that. He knew that he must have done something to attract all of those injuries, because how else could he have ended up having all of those accidents? Half of which, moreover, involved Bokuto. All had started with a threat on a cake, and then from there he'd gotten hurt in every possible way. Even two days later, he still sported all of the signs of the assaults he'd received from the thorns, the bees, Bokuto's fist and Lev's elbow. Everything hurt, and he was more than a little ashamed to show his battered face at school. But it wasn't like he could just skip classes, could he?</p>
<p>Although everything, apparently, had been for a reason. Bokuto was trying to confess his love to him, and Kuroo couldn't even hope for it to really be true. He would have given anything to hear those words come out of Bokuto's mouth. Instead, they came out of Tsukishima's, and when he turned towards Bokuto looking for an answer from him, his friend just ran away. It wasn't true, then. He had failed.</p>
<p>"You really look like you had a fight with a tiger and lost" Yaku commented, appearing right beside him and making him startle.</p>
<p>"True, and your eye is getting worse than it was yesterday. Have you been putting ice on it?" Kai commented as well, having joined him together with Yaku.</p>
<p>Kuroo sighed, hands in the pockets of his pants and ignoring Kai’s words regarding his eye. "Guys, what Tsukki said about Bokuto... do you think it's true?" he tried to ask, uncertain. He wanted to know the truth, he wanted to know more. He needed to be sure, before he got his hopes up only to get them crushed once again, like he did the day he confessed his love to Bokuto and got turned down.</p>
<p>Kai shrugged, a sign that he didn't know, but Yaku seemed to be more pensive than usual. "You should go talk to Lev. I heard him talk about you and Bokuto with Hinata from Karasuno, and I think he knows something more than the rest of us" the libero commented.</p>
<p>That was enough to capture Kuroo's attention. He had a hint of a smile when he finally entered his classroom for the first lesson of the day.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <b>Nekoma High School, Monday at lunch</b>
</p>
<p>The morning flew by in a heartbeat, and soon it was time for lunch. Instead of going to look for Kenma, as he always did in order to make sure that his friend actually ate instead of just playing some videogame, Kuroo went looking for Lev instead. He found the younger teen laughing with a group of classmates, who all looked at him with terrified eyes when he approached them asking if he could steal Lev for a moment. Well, to their defense he could say that the tall senpai with the bruised face didn't seem to be that friendly to any first-year who didn't know him; he could have been some violent hooligan who loved to get into fights, for all they knew.</p>
<p>Lev, however, followed him with a smile on his face, almost skipping beside him. "What's up, Kuroo-senpai?" he even asked, as happy as always.</p>
<p>Kuroo took a deep breath, before he started talking. "Yaku told me that you might know something about a situation that's been torturing me since yesterday. What Tsukki said about Bokuto being in love with me... is it true or not? And it looks like you might know what's behind everything that's happened" he asked the other middle blocker.</p>
<p>The younger boy seemed to be embarrassed for a moment, probably not wanting to tell Kuroo the entire story not to betray a friend's confidence, but Kuroo kept staring at him with penetrating eyes, silently asking him to please tell the truth. And Lev finally started gesticulating, trying to dissimulate.</p>
<p>"I mean, Tsukishima told you, so it's not a secret anymore. I don't think I need to keep the secret any longer, do I?" he started to say, making Kuroo's eyes shoot wide open. Did that mean that it was true, then? That Bokuto really was in love with him?</p>
<p>"It looks like the third-years of Fukurodani made a promise to each other to live that training camp as if it was their last day on Earth or something. They all did pretty crazy stuff, and Bokuto-san wanted to make sure that you knew how he felt about you. He wanted to make it spectacular, but he kept messing up his confessions instead, so Tsukishima got mad and finally did it for him" Lev explained.</p>
<p>He didn't enter in too many details, but he was clear enough that Kuroo understood exactly what the situation was. Well, that was a surprise. A huge smile appeared on his face. Bokuto had broken his heart when he had turned him down, but that entire time Kuroo had been sure that his friend returned his feelings after all. Had he only been scared to ruin things between them? Because he would have never confessed to Bokuto in the first place, if he hadn't been sure that his friend felt the same.</p>
<p>And now, months later, he finally had confirmation that it was true. It was time to make Bokuto listen, then. To make sure that the other finally accepted the idea of being together, because their feelings were mutual.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <b>Fukurodani Academy, Monday afternoon</b>
</p>
<p>As soon as his classes were over, Kuroo ran out of school and towards the train station. He skipped volleyball practice for the first time since... well, probably ever. But he couldn't wait, he needed to get to Bokuto and clarify the entire situation. And he needed to make a grand gesture out of it. It would have only been fitting, after all.</p>
<p>On the way to Fukurodani Academy, he stopped at a convenience store and bought three bags of heart-shaped candy and a plastic bowl. He put everything in his backpack and then kept going towards the school. Once he got there, he immediately walked to the gym where the male volleyball club always practiced. He knew his way around pretty well, considering that he'd been there several times before, the last one of which being just the day before.</p>
<p>Once he got closer to the gym, he emptied the bags of candy in the bowl and looked at all of those cherry-flavored hearts covered in sugar. That was going to be the best love confession that ever happened. He was going to show Bokuto that he shouldn’t have run away after Tsukishima had told Kuroo about his feelings, that he didn't have to be ashamed because Kuroo felt the same way.</p>
<p>Completely unannounced, Kuroo burst into the gymnasium in the middle of practice, taking everyone by surprise. The moment he saw him there, Bokuto started to panic, Kuroo could easily see it. But he didn't give Bokuto any time to run away or shut himself out. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing, as Kuroo advanced inside the gym towards Bokuto, holding the bowl in his hands. Bokuto wasn't looking at him, preferring to stare at the floor instead. And he couldn't have that, of course.</p>
<p>"Hey, Bokuto!" he called, making the other raise his head to look at him. That was when he acted.</p>
<p>Making sure to hold the bowl well enough not to let it slip away, he threw its entire content at Bokuto's face. He saw the other boy close his eyes because of the surprise, sugar probably ending up in his eyes and nose anyway. "I love you too!" he stated, certain of what he was saying.</p>
<p>It took a moment for Bokuto to realize what he just said, but soon the boy was staring at him with an incredulous expression painted on his face. Kuroo only smirked more widely.</p>
<p>"What kind of confession is that?" "Did he just throw candy at Bokuto's face?" "Look, it's heart-shaped candy!" were the comments flying around the gym from different Fukurodani players.</p>
<p>Kuroo, however, tuned the comments out completely. He didn't care about them, he didn't care about anything else. Because now Bokuto was smiling and throwing himself at him. Kuroo did his best to catch him without losing his footing, but it was impossible. He ended up falling with Bokuto on top, hitting both his ass and an elbow pretty hard on the floor.</p>
<p>"But please stop trying to show me your love, okay? Before you end up killing me for real" he told Bokuto, and when he other started to put up a guilty expression, Kuroo just kissed it away.</p>
<p>Every inch of his body hurt for one reason or another, but he was still on cloud nine because Bokuto loved him back.</p>
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